The time of the summoning grows closer and closer. Can the investigators find the cult’s base of operations and stop the ritual?
(All page numbers refer to the Seventh Edition of the Call of Cthulhu Keeper Rulebook, published 2015 by Chaosium, Inc. I am in no way affiliated with Chaosium or the writers of the Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game system. Content notes for this chapter: kidnapping, murder, blood sacrifice, potential mob violence, eldritch horrors.)
The next day was to be the day of the contests of oration and magecraft. I awoke to find the house in disarray, Garvesh having spread out his books on every available surface. With an exaggerated sigh, he sat down at the table before one of his tomes and placed his chin in one hand, the other tracing the rows of characters on the page. I was tempted to close my door again and see if the scene was any more comprehensible upon opening it a second time, but instead I strode into the common room and wished everyone a fine good morning.
Garvesh gave me a look sharper than a javelin, but I paid him no heed. I was still in a good humor from my victory the day before, having won my team a lead over even the Ascended’s own champions, and despite a narrow loss to the warrior Heishiro in an arm-wrestling match outside of the games.
The cult of the Great Mother is well-established here in Oxmoor, and the investigators need to find out whom they can trust. The notes written by Professor Ragnarsson’s murderer indicated that the cult is seeking a book at the Westmont estate. Finding that book will be the key to the investigators’ next steps, but time is of the essence: the cult is preparing to summon an eldritch horror from ages long forgotten.
This section includes the Westmont Estate, notes on the book, and other locations around Oxmoor.
(All page numbers refer to the Seventh Edition of the Call of Cthulhu Keeper Rulebook, published 2015 by Chaosium, Inc. I am in no way affiliated with Chaosium or the writers of the Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game system. Content notes for this chapter: violence, death, murder, cult activity including blood sacrifice and implied forced pregnancy.)
I decided yesterday morning that I will be participating in NaNoWriMo this year.
Now, I’m not sure how well that will work out, because my little family is moving house this month, and there will be much to do as the holidays approach, but I decided that I’d rather fail than regret not trying, so here we are.
If you’re not familiar with National Novel Writing Month, the event challenges writers to complete 50,000 words (enough for a short novel or a solid novella) within the 30 days of November. This works out to 1667 words a day, or 2380 if you take weekends off.
I’m going to be dividing these words between my manuscript and Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea. The Well Below the Valley is already written, though it continues to take some effort to format for the blog.
New chapters of Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea and The Well Below the Valley will continue posting on alternate Wednesdays. I will also be checking in on Fridays and tracking progress toward that 50k goal. Wish me luck! And if you have experience with NaNo, I encourage you to please tell me your wisdom. This is my first time.
The investigators have discovered the murderer of Professor Ragnarsson and brought to light the terrible cult he belongs to. They now have their next lead: the village of Oxmoor, where Ragnarsson’s former assistant is now living. She was entrusted with one of the artifacts the professor removed from the island, and has more information about the ill-fated expedition. In a stroke of phenomenally bad luck, the cult is also gathering there to seek out an artifact from the island and a mysterious text. The investigators must travel to Oxmoor, find Jasmine, and put a stop to what the cult has planned next, which seems to also be putting Eloise’s young cousin, Aurelia Westmont, in danger as well.
In this section, the investigators will visit Jasmine and find out what she knows about the cult and its practices, and have their first encounter with the dark magic of the island.
(All page numbers refer to the Seventh Edition of the Call of Cthulhu Keeper Rulebook, published 2015 by Chaosium, Inc. I am in no way affiliated with Chaosium or the writers of the Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game system. Content notes for this chapter: mentions of sexism/racism and suicide, forced pregnancy, body horror.)
“How is it that you can do that?” I asked. I would not have believed it, had I not seen it with my own eyes, and felt the heat of Jora’s fever and smelled the putrescence of his wound. He had surely been close to death, and now he walked back to his house under his own power.
“Khalim has a gift,” Reva said. “When the time is right, the people will follow him to the ends of the earth.”
This is my best friend, Brooke. She turns 30 on Monday, and I wanted to write something in honor of her birthday.
We met in college, almost ten years ago, and as our birthdays are exactly one week apart, we have been celebrating them jointly ever since. Over the years, we’ve lived in different cities, close together and far apart, worn a lot of costumes, changed our hair colors countless times, and signed each other’s marriage documents. She even introduced me to my husband. She’s one of the most hardworking, compassionate, and brilliant people I’ve ever met.
It’s hard to describe how much she’s meant to me over this past near-decade. I could tell you that I used to want to be her when I grew up, but I learned over the years that there will only ever be one Brooke (and of course I would be better as myself than a poor simulacrum of someone else). I could tell you that she’s taught me that it’s important to always fight for what you believe in, no matter how small you feel; that one should take any opportunity to dance when it’s given; that a multitude of problems can be helped by a nice cup of tea; and that creativity is most important in life, second only to love. I think even this, however, does not do her justice.
So I will tell you this. We grew up, and life and its hardships get in the way, and I see her as often as I can and not as often as I would like. But every time I do see her, it is like stopping at a house beside the ocean in the middle of a great journey. The road is long, a storm gathers on the far horizon, and the waves crash on the beach below, but inside there is warmth and safety. There are wildflowers hanging from the rafters to dry, and a kettle just beginning to sing, and the weary smile of a friend who has walked the same paths and climbed the same cliffs. Tomorrow, the road will still be there, but for now, all is well, and there is time to rest.
To Brooke, my best friend, birthday buddy, partner in crimes against fashion: have the most wonderful of days, and may the year ahead bring you manyfold all the blessings you have brought me.
The investigators return to London after gathering clues in Oxford and learning of the tragedy that befell Professor Ragnarsson’s expedition to the North Sea. While they try to hunt down the professor’s murderer and make sense of what he left behind, they find that something far stranger is happening here—and they are all in grave danger.
(All page numbers refer to the Seventh Edition of the Call of Cthulhu Keeper Rulebook, published 2015 by Chaosium, Inc. I am in no way affiliated with Chaosium or the writers of the Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game system. Content notes for this chapter: murder, mentions of sexism and racism, drowning, possible mind control, discussion of WWI and loss of loved ones.)
We had twenty silver between us come morning. It wasn’t enough for another night at this inn, and with the tournament a day away, we were unlikely to find somewhere better. Such was the fate of an adventurer, to go from feast to famine faster than a spinning wheel. There was surely work to be found here, and silver to be paid for it; we would just have to find it.
Space Whales Press 